Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui- a Travel Agent Review

As a vacation and honeymoon specialist, My Vacation Lady sends a lot of clients to the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui so when it came to our vacation, there was no other place that I wanted to stay.  I needed to find out why everyone came back raving over how wonderful the Fairmont is.  Well, we found out…

As we drove up the Kea Lani looked as good as it did on our last visit 5 years ago.  We were greeted by the bell staff and given leis upon arrival.  Our luggage was taken from the car and our car was whisked away- the first day of valet parking is included.   I love the view from the lobby- straight out to the water.  This time it was hidden by an enormous Christmas tree.  When we snuck a peak around the tree- the gorgeous view was there.

I had a standing joke with my contact at the Kea Lani, that my daughter wanted the presidential suite for her honeymoon and my contact told me that she was “building it for her”.  We had this joke going for a couple of years and while my daughter didn’t get the presidential suite, she got a beautiful deluxe ocean view suite.  All room are suites with a private bedroom, separate living room and a gorgeous bathroom, with 2 pedestal sinks, a huge soaking tub and separate marble shower and a huge lanai that spans both the living room and bedroom.  I was anticipating a similar room to my daughter’s but when we checked in, Luz, the front desk clerk, explained to me that the “presidential suite” wasn’t available.  Instead, my contact hoped that I would be ok with a 2 bedroom ocean front villa.  I’m not sure that Luz understood the joke about the presidential suite or not but the villa was certainly ok with us!

It wasn’t quite ready yet so we had lunch at the Polo Grill which offers poolside dining.  We had a nice lunch (any lunch with Maui chips is great to me).  The Polo Grill is great for people with special dietary needs- they offer a vegetarian and gluten free menu.  My cell phone rang just as we finished lunch saying our room was ready.  A bell hop took us by cart to Villa #1.  The first thing we saw was our private pool.   That was only the beginning.  If it sounds like I’m drooling, it’s because I was.  The villa is to die for.  Two gorgeous master sized bedrooms with bathrooms that most people would kill for.  Our 2 bedroom villa was 1800 square feet with a living room, dining room, kitchen with Bosch appliances, granite counter tops, complete with a fully stocked kitchen and Viceroy and Boch china plus a separate laundry room.  When we went upstairs, I was even more floored- in addition to the same bedroom as was downstairs, add a huge walk in closet, private balcony and a desk in the bedroom overlooking the ocean.  I truly wanted to live here forever!  Trust me, I would have been happy in one of the ocean view suites but the villa just was the icing on the cake.

The pools at the Fairmont are just gorgeous.  There are 3 of them.  First the upper and lower pools are gorgeous with a bridges going across, a water slide and a swim up pool bar.  While these are family friendly pools, there is an adult only pool as well.   The adult pool with very cute leaf loungers for 2, is the closest to the K’O restaurant, which is currently closed for renovation.  The restaurant area is blocked by a bamboo screened wall and that didn’t seem to bother the guests who were relaxing at the adult pool.  The restaurant renovations completion date have been pushed back until March but while we were at the restaurant or pool, we didn’t hear construction noise.  Not to say there won’t be, but the only construction noise we heard was in the parking garage which was their construction staging area.

Pool services:  of course towels and loungers are included.  Umbrellas (though hard to find) are free but cabanas are additional and include fruit, beverages and more.  During the afternoon, the pool staff came around with cut up pineapple.  Ice water is always available at the towel hut and pool toys, sun screen and more were available for sale.  The servers from the Polo Grill were always around to take orders for food or beverages.  Due to the construction, beach umbrellas and snorkeling gear was complimentary as well.  Typically, there is a charge for those.  One thing that you must pre-book is the outrigger canoe excursion.  There are only 4 guests in the canoe with 2 staff members and it is truly a wonderful experience.  It runs daily at 7, 8, 9 and 10am and those slots fill up very quickly.  You learn a bit about Hawaiian history, how to paddle and you can get the opportunity to snorkel right from the canoe.  It can be up to an hour excursion and it is a must do at the Fairmont.

Some other nice little extras were the free shuttle anywhere in Wailea.  We had them take us down to another resort that we were going to look at and also had them pick us up a the Shops at Wailea after dinner.  There is no resort fee at the Fairmont which is pretty rare in Maui.  If you are a Fairmont President’s Club member you also have free internet access as well as a number of other discounts.

The spa is lovely- but not as big as some of the other nearby resort’s spas.  It has 9 treatment rooms as well as an outdoor ocean view spa hale, which was right in front of our villa.  The fitness center is open 24/7 but we didn’t do more than peek into it. The Keiki Club (kid’s club) is a brightly decorated room for kids ages 5-12.  It’s kind of tucked away and we didn’t notice it for the first couple of days.  There is a fee for the kid’s club, on a ½ day or full day schedule.  They also offer evening activities.  We were there during a slower season and didn’t see many kids at all but during the summer, the Fairmont is a great family resort due to the size of the rooms.  In addition to the king bed or 2 double beds in the master bedroom, the sofa in the living room is a pull out sofa, so the rooms are very comfortable for families.

One of the best features of the Fairmont Kea Lani is the service.  While we have stayed in other 5 star resorts in different islands, we didn’t feel the true Hawaiian aloha spirit and fabulous service that we felt at the Kea Lani.  Did we feel that we got better service because we were in a villa?  No- the pool, restaurant and beach staff didn’t know what type of room we were in.  My clients have all raved over the service and I truly saw the difference between the Kea Lani and other properties.  There was never a moment that the staff didn’t go out of their way- down to the bell hop who tried to program in restaurant directions into my GPS.

Who would I recommend the Kea Lani to:

1. Honeymooners
2. Families
3. Wedding parties

Actually, I don’t think there is anyone that I wouldn’t recommend the Fairmont Kea Lani to, unless they were on a strict budget.  The resort is not inexpensive but it will certainly spoil you forever!

My Vacation Lady is a Hawaii Destination Specialist and we can customize a honeymoon package or vacation package for you on any of the Hawaiian Islands, including the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui.  Contact us for more information.